Our New House: The Kitchen

So last week, I lied to you. Just a little. I told you that my new lounge was one of my favourite rooms in the house when actually I think the kitchen is.

It’s the room that I spend the most time in and is a completely different place compared with the old one. The area to cook in is about a third of the size, but rather than this being at all pokey or annoying it just means that everything is within arm’s reach. It’s perfect.

There are a few things I’ve changed in here: I have replaced the blind and made a floral curtain over the ugly boiler (when I say ‘I’ made the curtain I mean I chose the fabric, measured the boiler then asked my Mother-in-Law to do it).

Home improvements like this are a great way to prolong the life of your appliances. Boilers for example can be temperamental which is why keeping yours hidden behind a curtain can prevent it from becoming damaged or needing any repairs. Moreover, if you do not already have a home warranty plan in place, investing in one can help you to cover the cost of any repairs or improvements further down the line. If you would like to learn more about the benefits of a home warranty plan, you can find some helpful resources on the First American website here: https://homewarranty.firstam.com/homeowner/home-warranty/nevada

One of the best things about this kitchen is the MOTHERTRUCKING PANTRY! I’ve been lucky enough to live in a couple of houses with pantries before, and really is there anything else a middle-class country dweller craves more than a pantry in her kitchen? I think not. Ours looks a little bare as so much of our glassware lives in the garage (which is off the kitchen) so we are able to keep it to the bare essentials: breadmaker, mini magimix, veg, recycling bin, dried herbs and spices, ceareals… that sort of thing. I love it, duh.

I think this is my favourite piece of art in the whole house, in my favourite frame. The art was from Etsy (no longer available) and the frame was a chazza shop special… the best kind of serendipitous decoration I real. It’s my sense of humour all over.

When we moved into this house there was a washing machine where the dishwasher lives and we were told that a) white goods were included and b) there was plumbing for a washing machine in the garage. On moving-in day there was a gaping big hole in the kitchen where the washing machine used to be and no plumbing in the garage. I was shamefully a bit distraught: I felt that life without a dishwasher would be pretty bloody hard (first world problems, I know). Luckily my very clever dad plumbed my washing machine into the garage – being reunited with my beloved washing machine after 2 years was WONDERFUL – and I found a year-old dishwasher (with 3 years left on it’s John Lewis guarantee!) on eBay for 70 quid. Will bought it for me for Christmas and order was once again restored.

This is where we eat. I love to cook our dinner as I watch the littlies tuck into whichever organic delight I’ve cooked up for them and this table is just big enough for family meals. It was another eBay bargain and is awaiting a lick of Annie Sloan chalk paint once the weather’s a big brighter and we can take it outside.

This pot comes from my local garden centre: it was love at first sight.

More Charity Shop bargains – my decanters and royal mug which is full of Crayola pens – and the unit that used to house cookbooks but is now the home of toys and plenty of the ‘That’s Not My…’ series.

Because the sight of the pantry door was boring me to tears I thought I’d plaster it in family pictures. It’s such a lovely thing to stand and look at over your morning cup of tea, so many happy memories. Giving it a cursory glance I can see my Grandma (the original Elfreda), Will and I in NYC, Malaysia and Greece, my in-laws in Tunisia, my dad and I when I was Elfie’s age, gorgeous Aly McLoughlin-Harte (Bryony you’re on there somewhere too!), my BFF just as she got engaged and both Elfie and Hux in utero. I love photo doors, or walls, whatever. Memories ?

Our fridge is home to lots of letter magnets which are regularly abused to spell out rude words. And this is how I found out my husband can’t spell ‘Chlamydia’ properly :)

Last but not least is the windowsill. An ever-rotating display of flowers, herbs and candles, the flower du jour being daffs which are all over the place at the moment (and these ones smell DIVINE).

I love my kitchen.

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